Beneath the Veil
by Lexcyn Shade
Summary: A hero is lost and the world weeps for him. An ancient race once thought to have vanished off the face of the earth has risen again. One sets out in search of something lost, but will it be found in time to end what is on its way?
1. Chapter 1

_Evil had cast a shadow upon Hyrule, creeping quietly. The land's people, once kind and pure of heart, were turned to evil monster unknowing of what was happening to them. Ganon was free and at last had his way with Hyrule. But, there had been some who had not fallen for his spell. The Royal Princess had sought the help of the Sages, but there were no more Sages. They had been killed at Ganon's hand. Enter the Hero of Time who, after some time, had returned to rid the land of this evil. However, our hero was unappreciated greatly by not only Ganon and his minions, but by the land's people as well. They believed before that he had finally sealed Ganon away with the help of the Master Sword and the Sages. If that was so, then why was Ganon back? The people seemed to have lost faith in the Hero of Time. Then the Hero of Time vanished without a trace. Could he not defeat this evil? Or worse... was he finally slain? And the princess? She seemed to have vanished as well, perhaps she fled in fear. Those who remained out of evil's grasp prayed for salvation... but there was no salvation. There was no prayer that could rid them of this Hell in Hyrule... All hope was diminished_

* * *

Ever since evil had consumed the land the forest had been quiet. No one dared to venture out; no one dared to venture out at all. In fear of evil. In fear of death. In fear of Ganon. But...what was that?

A galloping noise arose throughout the forest. Flashing by through the passing trees was a girl on a horse. This was no ordinary girl. She looked beyond the coming of age, 17 or so (not a child, but not yet a woman either), wearing strange garments that were not of this land. They bore tribal markings of some sort. On her back, visible as clearly as the sun, was a tattoo of what looking like an eye of some sort. Another tribal marking? This marking was occasionally covered by her long silver-white hair, which flowed smoothly against the wind. It wasn't visible, but she had mysterious light blue almost gray eyes. Her eyes...they seemed to hold untold stories, untold secrets, and untold sufferings. However, she wore a sort of translucent black veil on her on her face. All that was visible were her eyes. Slung on her back was an ordinary looking bow with a quiver full of arrows, the only weapon she carried. A tribal girl indeed. Her horse charged through the forest with ease as if the trees were jumping out of its path to make way for it. It was a great beast, big and strong. It's long black mane and tail also flowing against the wind with a soft looking black coat. And its eyes, like the girls, were mysterious, but they were fiery red. They held within them a determination of some sort. Both the tribal girl and the horse shined with a light of their own, unexplainable because the surrounding tree's branches were thick with leaves and little light could seep it's way through.

The galloping slowed down and came to a stop. The girl dismounted her horse, looking around. It looked as if she traveled a great way in search of something. The forest was quiet once again, only disrupted by her horse's occasional snorts and deep breathes. There, suddenly, to the right of the tribal girl, she saw something run by quickly, a flash of blue visible for a mere second. She centered her vision on the spot when she saw another flash of blue, this time to her left. She withdrew her bow and an arrow from the quiver. She took aim, waiting to see the blue flash again. She waited for what seemed an eternity...when laughter broke the silence. It rang through the forest, as if it were orchestrated. She shut out the silence, still waiting for that blue flash. She released her arrow, seeing the blue flash at last. A piercing scream filled the forest. The tribal girl made her way to source of the scream, hearing along the way a sort of struggle. What met her eyes was a surprise indeed.

A young girl, no older than 13, was pinned against the tree by the arrow which narrowly missed her neck.

"Let me go!" The young girl yelled, tugging at the arrow, but it would not budge.

"Who are you?" The tribal girl asked, there was not much emotion in her voice.

"I'm not saying a word!" The young girl responded. "Kill me if you want, I'm not saying anything!"

"I have no interest in killing you," the tribal girl responded as she retrieved her bow and arrow again, "but if you wish..."

Taking aim at the young girl's head, she released the arrow... Another arrow shot out of nowhere and deflected it. Both the girls looked surprised at what happened. They turned their head's to where the other arrow had come from. Standing atop a rock was a young man holding a positioned bow. He looked at the tribal girl, who in return glared at him. He seemed surprised by this... perhaps scared.

"Look at her eyes..." Whispered the young girl.

"If you want to kill her, you'll have to get through me first." Said the young man, jumping off the rock and landing on the forest ground gracefully.

The young man unsheathed his sword and retrieved his shield, lunging at the tribal girl with sword attack. She was too quick for him. As if she disappeared and reappeared, the tribal girl was now to the right of the young man, aiming an arrow to his head.

"What the..." He said, surprised.

A couple of seconds past.

"...Aren't you going to kill me?" The young man asked.

"I have no intention of killing anyone." The tribal girl responded.

"Well then, what do you want?" He asked in return, still not letting his guard down... just in case.

"I am looking for a warrior, an ancient warrior to be exact." She told him, still keeping the arrow aimed. "An ancient warrior that wanders this land. He speaks to no one. Many fear him, none know nothing of him."

The young man pondered on this for quite some time.

"No." He finally responded. "There is no such ancient warrior who wanders these lands."

The tribal girl stared at him a little longer...then let her arrow down. She put away and proceeded back to her horse. As she mounted it, the young man went to help the young girl still pinned to the tree, pulling the arrow out and letting her down.

"Wait," he said turning to the tribal girl, "what's your name?"

The horse stomped on the ground, giving both the young man and young girl threatening looks.

"... Euphony." The tribal girl responded after some seconds.

"Oh... Well, my name is Mouriar." He said.

"This girl here," He added, gesturing to the young girl, "is my younger sister, Koraeir."

Note; Pronounced: "Yoo-fe-nee" and "Moe-ree-air" and "Koe-rae-ee-air"

Euphony grabbed the reigns and wrapped them around her hand, about to leave when Mouriar stopped her once again.

"Hey wait...Maybe I know someone that can help you find who you're looking for." He told her.

Euphony looked at him, contemplating whether it was a trick or not.

"...Who?" She asked, unconvinced.

"I can't say who out loud...but let's just say she's part of an ancient warrior race as well." He responded.

"Yeah, he's talking about Im--" Koraeir began to say but Mouriar's hand put his hand over his mouth.

"Shh!" He said, alarmed. "Remember? Ganon's servants lurk in these woods..."

He stopped and listening intently for a noise, maybe a scattering of footsteps or something. After he heard nothing, he turned back to Euphony.

"I would tell you who, but I really can't." He said apogetically. "Come with us, you have nothing to lose." He added.

Euphony looked them over, still unconvinced.

"...Okay." She finally agreed.

Mouriar broke out into a smile. He then blew two short whistles. Two horses appeared through the shadows, both gleaming white. Koraeir got on one and Mouriar the other.

"Just follow me." He said, nudging his horse and began to ride. Koraeir and Euphony followed.

After a short trip, they came to a stop at what looked to be a waterfall.

"Why are we here? Who is this ancient warrior you speak of?" Euphony asked, curiosity noticeable in her voice.

"Like I said, an ancient warrior." Mouriar responded.

There was a brief dead silence... The waterfall's cascading waters had stopped. There seemed to be a sort of secret entrance beyond where the waters flowed...along with a woman was standing there. She had tribal markings as well.

"Impa." Mouriar said, smiling.

Euphony's eyes widened a bit at the sight of Impa.

The Sheikah


	2. Chapter 2

"Impa..." Euphony thought out loud.

"Lady Impa," Mouriar announced, kneeling to her, "we have come in hopes that you are able to answer some questions we have."

Impa stood at the entrance for a moment...then jumped off doing a signature Sheikah flip and landed gracefully in front of Euphony, _kneeling_ before her.

"Lady Impa, why do you kneel?" Asked Mouriar, dumbfounded by her actions.

"Because," Impa responded, getting up and smiling at Euphony, "She is of the Deity Sheikah."

"The Deity Sheikah...?" Chorused Mouriar and Koraeir, both clueless.

"The Deity Sheikah is an even more ancient race of the Sheikah." Impa explained. "Actually, they are the forerunners of the Sheikah, so to speak."

"Deity Sheikah markings bear a resemblance to current day Sheikah markings, but if you look closely, they have several differences." Added Impa. "I recognized Euphony's markings right away for what they were, that is why I kneel before her."

"What differences... Wait. How do you know her name?" Asked Mouriar, looking even more confused than before.

"It's best that we do not speak of it out here." Impa responded, gesturing to their surroundings.

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement as they followed Impa inside the waterfall.

Inside it was "lavishly" decorated. Lit torches surrounded the room, along with several banners. They bore the Sheikah symbol on them along with the colors.

Impa lead them to a circular sort of room, it looked to be where all the important meetings and planning's took place.

"Sit." Said Impa, gesturing to the chairs in the room.

Mouriar and Koraeir said, but Impa and Euphony preferred to stand.

"Before you ask any questions, I would like to tell you a story." Impa said, glancing over at Mouriar.

Everyone nodded their heads, signifying for her to continue.

Impa began:

"After this land had been created by the three goddesses and humans had roamed, there came an ancient warrior race that was put here to protect the Royal Family, the Sheikah. It has been this way since that time, however, there is more to the story than most know. 

Before the Sheikah were ordered to protect the Royal Family, there was another race of warriors. These were the Deity Sheikah. Their purpose was to protect the Triforce and the original 6 Sages, the Royal Family was unimportant. The Deity Sheikah are bound by honor, living and dying only for honor. The honor? To protect the Triforce and Sages. It was against honor for any of the Deity Sheikah to have friendships, even worse; it was against honor for the Deity Sheikah to fall in love. If one Deity Sheikah were to fall in love, they would be punished severely. That was the way of life for the Deity Sheikah, they knew nothing else.

Soon after that a new Sheikah race arose. This is the race I belong to. You see, we hold the same values as the Deity Sheikah, but unlike them, we were allowed friendships and love. But now we protected the Royal Family, who in turn protected the Triforce and Sages. However, it is said that a 7th sage was added to rule over the other 6 sages. A balance, so to speak.

But the Deity Sheikah were enraged at this. They believed that the adding of a 7th sage was an abomination. They also didn't believe that the new race of the Sheikah should be allowed neither friendships nor love. It was against their way of life, against their honor.

From then on a war raged between the Deity Sheikah and everyone else. In the end, the Deity Sheikah was recluse. They wanted nothing with new Sheikah, the 7th sage and the Royal Family.

However, as said before, they were still bound by honor, so they still protected the Triforce and the 6 original sages. That how it was meant to be, and that is how it still is today."

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"What happened to the remaining Deity Sheikah?" Mouriar asked.

"After time had passed, the Deity Sheikah race began to die off. Anyone who was born into the Deity Sheikah wished for friends, wished for love. They left their home and joined with the new Sheikah instead." Impa answered. "I didn't think any of them were still alive today...but now I see there are still some left..."

"Oh..." Koraeir said softly.

"You said if any of the Deity Sheikah had friends or fell in love, they would be 'severely punished'. What kind of punishment?" Koraeir asked.

Impa opened her mouth to answer but Euphony spoke first.

"Usually the Elder Deity Sheikah would have disowned you. You were stripped of your honor and banned from your home." Euphony explained. "But, that was if you befriended someone. If you fell in love...that would mean a terrible fate."

"Terrible fate?" Impa asked, surprised like the others. "You mean death?"

"No," Answered Euphony, "this fate was worse than death. The Elders would imprison your soul in a mask. You would forever remain in a mask. Unless...the person you loved set you free, but in that case, they were killed."

"...That's horrible." Mouriar said, disgusted. "How can that be worse than death?"

"You do not understand because you are a commoner." Euphony responded, coldness in her voice.

"I...I didn't mean to offend you..." Mouriar muttered.

There was an awkward silence...

"Euphony, you needed something?" Asked Impa, breaking the silence.

"Oh...Yes." Answered Euphony. "I am looking for someone... He is also a Deity Sheikah. He wanders this land, speaking to no one. Many fear him, none know nothing of him."

Impa pondered this for some time...

"I have heard of a place where none dare to enter... they say a warrior has made his home there, killing anyone who enters it." Impa finally said. "I can take you there."

Euphony nodded her head as Impa turned to Mouriar and Koraeir.

"I don't recommend you coming along," She said to Koraeir, "it is too dangerous. As for you Mouriar--"

"Only come if you wish for death." Euphony said quietly.

"You know what, I guess I wish for death then 'cause I'm coming." Mouriar said, a note of determination in his voice.

"Hey! You can't leave me here all by myself!" Koraeir interrupted.

"You'll be fine." Mouriar said, patting her head, Koraeir glaring at him first, then sighed in defeat.

"Alright...be careful." She told him, giving her big brother a hug.

"Don't worry, I will be." Mouriar responded, letting go of her and walking to the entrance.

While they were saying their goodbyes, Euphony had been thinking to herself.

_So, the forest is where he's been. I really would have expected something much more secretive than that from him...But, as long as I find him, that's all that matters._

"Euphony, you ready?"

Impa's voice cut into Euphony's thoughts. She looked up and saw that Mouriar and Impa had already mounted their horses. Euphony mounted hers and nodded her head.

"Right." Mouriar said.

Impa nudged her horse as it began to charge through the forest, Euphony following after and Mouriar coming in third.

Though Euphony followed Impa, she was still lost in her thoughts.

_Let him...Let him be okay._

They were no longer in the forest, their horses galloping across dark fields. Night had fallen upon them so it was even harder to see where they were heading.

_Why would he have done that? He knew it was against honor..._

After some time they all stopped.

"We have arrived." Said Impa, dismounting her horse and the others following suit.

Before them was a sort of path, which lead into the heart of the forest. The tree's here gave off a sense of evil to them. All of them began to walk into the dark forest, the path becoming harder and harder to see the deeper they went in.

There was a rustling and they stopped.

"Leave now if you wish to keep your lives." Spoke a man's voice. It didn't sound evil but it wasn't a kind voice either.

Out of nowhere, an arrow shot to where the voice had come from, but this arrow was no ordinary arrow. It seemed to have some illumination to it, but after it struck the tree, it burst into light.

"A light arrow..." The man whispered, but now they could see who was speaking.

It was a tall man, young looking, 19 or so. He was clothed in what looked like the same clothing's Euphony wore, but for males. They held the same tribal markings... This man and Euphony even looked alike.

Was he a Deity Sheikah as well?

The light began to fade and darkness took over again.


End file.
